Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Definition
• Drugs that relieve constipation and promote
defecation.
• It is otherwise called as laxatives or purgatives.
• Constipation is delayed passage of faeces
• Presence of hard dehydrated fecal matter in
the rectum.
• Habitual use of purgatives.
• Presence of haemorrhoids and fissures
• Constipation is relieved by non
therapeutic measures like increasing the
fibre content of daily diet intake or
increase daily fluid intake.
• If it fails the laxatives and purgatives are
used.
• The intensity of their action depends on
dose.
• Laxatives eliminates soft semisolid stool
and the purgative lead to watery
evacuation.
The order of effectiveness is described
as follows
• Aperients – to smooth and soft
• Evacuant – to empty
• Purgative – to clean
• Catharatic – to completely
clean
Types of laxative
• Bulk forming laxatives
• Osmotic laxatives
• Lubricants laxatives
• Surfactant laxatives
Bulk forming laxatives
• It acts on intestinal luminal
• Hydrophilic
• Indigestible vegetable fibres which
stimulate peristalsis .
• Peristalsis produce defecation reflexes
by increasing the fecal bulk due to their
water absorbing and retaining capacity.
Bulk forming laxatives
• Eg wheat bran. Isphagula , carboxy
methyl cellulose
• Administered with plenty of water.
• Side effect :
• Bacterial digestion of vegetable
fibres within the colon may leads to
abdominal discomfort.
Osmotic diuretic
• Non absorbable
• Indigestible disaccharide.
• Osmotic action
• Eg Sorbitol and lactulose.
• Dose: 10 g twice daily with plenty of water.
• Side effect:
• Lead to flatulence, nausea and cramps.
Lubricant laxatives
• Pharmacologically inert mineral oils.
• It acts on intestinal lumen.
• It is fecal lubricants and stool softener by
decreasing the water absorption from the
stools.
• Eg liquid paraffin
• 15-30ml / day at bed time
• Leads to deficiency of fat soluble vitamin.
Surfactant laxatives
• Luminally active laxative.
• An anionic surfactant which softens the stools
by decreasing the surface tension of fluids in
the bowel.
• Sometimes it act as wetting agent for the
bowel by emulsifying the colonic contents
which facilitates the mixing of water in to fatty
substance of feces
• Eg docusate sodium
PURGATIVE
• It provides semi fluid stool or leads to watery
evacuation.
• These are used for complete cleaning of bowel
prior to gastrointestinal endoscopic
procedures.
• To flush out the worms of post bed ridden or
post operative patients after the use of
anthelmintic drugs
• Cleaning the bowel before surgery or taking
abdominal x-ray
• Classification
• Osmotic purgatives
• Irritant purgatives
Osmotic purgative
• Electrolyte osmotic purgative
• Saline purgatives
Electrolyte osmotic purgative
• Osmotic laxative
• Electrolyte replenishers.
• It is also used in renal impaired
patients as laxative.
MAGNESIUM CARBONATE
Preparation of Heavy magnesium
carbonate
• It is preapared by double decomposition
of magnesium sulphate and sodium
carbonate.
• 125 parts of magnesium sulphate and
150 parts of sodium carbonate.
• Dissolved in boiling water separatley.
• Two solutions are mixed , filtered,
washed, evaporated and dried
Preparation of light magnesium
carbonate
125 parts of magnesium sulphate
solution is mixed with 150 parts of
sodium carbonate in cold water ,
heated for 5 minutes then precipitate
is collected, washed untill gives a slight
reaction for sulphate and dried in an
oven.
uses
• Antacid
• Osmotic laxative
• Pharmaceutical aid
• Slow acting antacid. [ during
pregnancy and lactation]
• Cathartic
Dose
• Antacid
• 300-600 mg
• Laxative
• 2-4 g